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If you're against nudity, then shouldn't you be against CBS for "cleaning up" a movie that contained nudity? What if people not only protested HBO and uncensored channels BUT also any channel that showed a censored version since we all know that guy isn't saying "fudge" and "darn"... all TV should be banned because it is either airing something offensive OR cleaning up something offensive and pretending it isn't being offensive since it was cleaned up!

Perhaps you are just playing "devil's advocate" and trying to incite an argument ... but believe it or not, people do complain when television airs beeps instead of swear words. The complaint is not that the viewer wanted to hear the swear word, but that the swear word was obvious to the viewer and the beeping failed to censor the program (and in a way emphasized the swear word by making the viewer fill in the blank from their own mind - thus making the viewer swear instead of just hearing the actor swear).

Yes - people actually filed complaints with the FCC about the beeps! And the FCC spent time ruling on the complaints.

The multi-ownership dominions of television make it difficult to choose a provider to boycott. CBS/Viacom, ABC/Disney, Fox, NBC/Universal ... they all have one outlet or another that could be considered offensive to someone. Perhaps different outlets of the same company even offend opposite people.

But AJ America and AJ English are similar in format to AJ ... they are news/commentary/indoctrination channels. Just like the news channels in the US except the ideas are not American based.

If I am going to be brainwashed by some flirty woman with not enough buttons done up on her blouse, or some shouting white guy, I want it to be an American ... or at least a Brit.

I think this opposition to Al Jazeera may stem from a superficial reflex: anything Arabic = bad. Personally, I don't believe any one people are inherently "bad". The Arabic culture is vast and has given the world at large a lot of priceless gifts. Of course, any people will have their own ultra-conservatives and fundamentalists. Here in America we have plenty of our own.

Every channel is basically pro: whomever owns it. There are lots of Arabiic countries... in fact, nearly all of them... whose leaders want to stay in power, and so they want the support of the United States to be assisted in staying in power, but they also support anti-Israeli interests. Most of these Arabic financial interests are not inclined to support the beheading of Americans, but I suspect that a lot of Americans don't realize that.

Have you thoroughly investigated ALL the paths of money to the channels you watch?

Get to the point.

What happens if someone who is "anti-american" donates to PBS... do you then also stop watching PBS?

AJ is the bad actor, your analogy doesn't work.

If I had reason to believe that PBS was encouraging or in any way aligning themselves with terrorists, I would be just as equally concerned.

OK ... where was the outrage when beIN Sport was added to DirecTV and DISH late last year?

I have no idea, I don't pay attention to sports. If they called it "Al Jazeera Sports", I imagine more people would be aware of it. I don't hire an investigator every time DirecTV adds a channel to their service. At the same time, hearing that AJ is buying out a channel that DirecTV does carry, and knowing what I know of their non-English programming, that gets my attention.

I don't pay for sports. Is beIN in a sports package, or is it part of the regular lineup? I can't find that info on DirecTV's site. Is it still carried?

Alex, without ever watching foreign news look at the world from their view.
We invaded them. They didn't ask for our protection. They want us to just go away.
If they invaded your country you would fight back just as hard as they do.
Maybe even harder. But not much. Face reality. You just happened to be born here.
That doesn't make you better than everybody else. Earn that part.

We invaded them. They didn't ask for our protection. They want us to just go away.

We invaded Qatar?

Whatever motivates terrorists is beside the point. It's the programming and agenda of the network that's the problem. Any network that promotes violence against civilians and celebrates murderous thugs is detestable. Do you not agree?

Whatever motivates terrorists is beside the point. It's the programming and agenda of the network that's the problem. Any network that promotes violence against civilians and celebrates murderous thugs is detestable. Do you not agree?

I agree only with your last part. As far as who we invaded pretty well established both Afghanistan and Iraq. Qatar is actually one of our stronger allys around there. Not strong, but stronger than most arab/middle east countries. From what I hear this channel just doesn't filter/soften or slant news the way your favorite channels do. I can handle multiple sources of info without going nuts.

The biggest disagreement is calling anybody and everybody that fights against us terrorists. If they are defending their country against an invading army they are patriots and honorable patriots in the eyes of their people. Their were plenty of real terrorists that took advantage of our rapid downsizing in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq.

I don't care what party Bush represented. As commander in chief I think he failed miserably. Caused massive debt and death. And never really made us safer. Just calling them all terrorists and pretending everything we did then and do now is rightous and justified is not for me. I won't control your life and what you can watch. Now do the same for me. I pay for channels you watch that I don't. Big deal. We all have to share a little here in pay tv world.

The biggest disagreement is calling anybody and everybody that fights against us terrorists. If they are defending their country against an invading army they are patriots and honorable patriots in the eyes of their people.

I don't disagree, but that's not at play here. AlJ aired what was basically Al Queida's recruitment videos. Are you claiming that 9/11 was an act of self defense? Or that Al Queida wasn't involved in the 9/11 attacks?

AlJ also celebrated some rather despicable human beings (Samir Kuntar for example).

Iraq has nothing to do with this.

I won't control your life and what you can watch. Now do the same for me. I pay for channels you watch that I don't. Big deal. We all have to share a little here in pay tv world.

I will not pay money to any provider that hands some of that money over to people that promote those that wish to kill us. That's not a valid "social contract", it's exactly the opposite.

If folks really want another outside view of the news, I'm sure DirecTV and others could find much better networks that do not have ties and who have not supported terrorists.

I don't disagree, but that's not at play here. AlJ aired what was basically Al Queida's recruitment videos. Are you claiming that 9/11 was an act of self defense? Or that Al Queida wasn't involved in the 9/11 attacks?

AlJ also celebrated some rather despicable human beings (Samir Kuntar for example).

Iraq has nothing to do with this.

I will not pay money to any provider that hands some of that money over to people that promote those that wish to kill us. That's not a valid "social contract", it's exactly the opposite.

If folks really want another outside view of the news, I'm sure DirecTV and others could find much better networks that do not have ties and who have not supported terrorists.

Time Warner cable would be a perfect fit for you. I gotta have my nfl and don't have TW around here so I'm stayin with the dish. Now if I could find a condo where the dish will work.

I don't condone any terrorist attack or killing pretty much in general. Bin Laden claimed that 9-11 and the many previous terrorist attacks were because foreign (US) christian soldiers were occupying his country (Saudia Arabia). I really believe that is why they did it. It a wierd way they probably think of it as "self defense". They see the world in a much different way than you do. Now we can learn why they think those things. Or ignore it. Or fight back. Or switch. Or ban that channel. Take away other peoples freedom. Yea let's do that. They sure won't miss your $0.10 per month.

I don't even watch much news, but I would guess that if Al Jazeera didn't show those "recruiting videos" their ratings would be low. Believe it or not, probably a big chunk of the middle east muslims see the terrorists as brave, tough guys like we see our football stars. Only 10 times more because some are willing to suicide for their cause. That is more support of their god than country, but some of both. Now we can find out what they "really think".

It looks to me like as we leave these countries, they still fight each other for control, but no they are not following us back here. They really do just want to be left alone. When we quit buying their oil somebody else will. The middle east isn't going broke any time soon. So lets keep an eye on them. "... Keep your enemies closer" right?

As long as new channels are cheap I'm all for it. The skyrocketing costs of regional sports etc. is a bigger concern for most direct subscribers.

I remember back when America was supposed to be about promoting free speech and allowing many points of view to be heard. Now when a tiny number of giant media companies run our TV news and advance their narrow corporate agendas from within the so-called "news" content in their entertainment divisions, we should be welcoming in a little variety as a breath of fresh air. Instead we mostly get this endless hatefest bred in ignorance and prejudice. I trust in intellectuals, not morons--guys like this:

"The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum." -- Adlai E. Stevenson

It is a free market ... I suspect that A J America will get roughly the same ratings as Current and fit in nicely with the other very low viewership channels (such as Russia Today, China Central News, The Blaze). Niches within the niche of news that will just blend in with the other hundreds of channels once the excitement of the change wears off.